Brown preaches bonding

Published 4:00 am, Saturday, July 13, 1996

As the free agent defensive back spoke Friday at the team hotel, his agenda was clear: He wants another Super Bowl ring like the three he earned as a Dallas Cowboy.

Brown also wants his new team to understand what it takes to get one.

"The biggest thing the Cowboys have - besides the talent - is the closeness," said Brown, who spent six years in Dallas before joining Oakland this winter. "It's a close group, and I think we're starting to develop that here. That closeness. That friendship. Playing for one another and not just punching the clock. The guys worked hard to do that this off-season, and we're starting to bond together."

The Raiders opened training camp Saturday with practices at Redwood Middle School. Brown clearly wants to be a vocal and physical presence during this time and throughout the season.

The 5-11, 186-pound cornerback is one of three newcomers to an Oakland secondary that intercepted a measly seven passes last season. But his championship experience (Brown was the Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XXX) will mean just as much as his coverage skills when assessing his value to the Raiders.

"I told those guys you win together and you lose together," Brown said. "You were 8-2 together and 0-6 together. So understand that we really need to stick together and understand that we'll have some bad times, just as we did in Dallas.

"Sometimes the offense will carry the defense and other times the defense will carry the offense. But that's a part of the game." &lt;